A wide variety of lighting systems or devices embodying timing means and various types of switches are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,706,004 discloses a combination light and switch construction in which the switch and lamp are located in a housing which can be partially turned in one direction for closing the switch and lighting the lamp while turning the housing in the opposite direction will open the switch and turn off the lamp. On the other hand, U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,260 discloses a combination night light and vaporizer for liquids in which a plug-in electric wall-bracket receives a throw-away container in the form of a dispensing package which contains a vaporizable liquid. A lamp in the bracket provides a heat source for vaporizing the liquid, as well as illumination for the night light. The lamp is controlled through an energizing circuit which includes an electric flow path in the vaporizable liquid between spaced electrodes built into the container and an overriding manually operable switch enables the establishment of a circuit between the electrodes when there is no liquid in the container.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,818,213 there is disclosed a decorative lamp in which a source of low level light in a concentrated form is incorporated with cast decorative elements to achieve a decorative appearance of the article due to the distribution and emanation of the light from the cast portions.
An entertainment Lighting Display is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,157,625 in which the display is of relatively thin proportions but produces a visual image of substantial depth by creating multiple reflections of light sources and objects within a narrow space by means of mirrors and repeated reflections back-and-forth between the mirrors.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,164,823 discloses a luminous effects device which is provided with a plurality of lamps, a partially silvered mirror and a spherical reflector located within a container and shaped and arranged to provide an endless tunnel effect when received from one side. Through means of a suitable light driver which is sensitive to an audio input, such as music, the lights may be made to blink, change in intensity and burning sequence and the like, thus creating variable luminous effects. On the other hand, U.S. Pat. No. 4,298,868 discloses an apparatus which produces an optical illusion of variable geometric patterns through an array of variably controlled light emitting diodes mounted on a rotating disk or carrier.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,256,009 deals with a disco lamp controller for a coin-operated phonograph in which a signal derived from an audio amplifier signal of the phonograph is employed to trigger lamps to light in time to the beat of music being played on the phonograph.
Still another pattern generating entertainment device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,196,461 in which a collimated light source is directed at a plurality of controllably rotatable mirrors which can be turned to achieve different light patterns. Further variations of the light pattern can be attained by an analog, that is audio, signal to modify the light beam.
While the above mentioned patents disclose useful and acceptable apparatus of varying degrees of complexity for achieving their stated purposes, it is to be noted that they do not deal with a device or apparatus which will disconnect, that is open a circuit after a predetermined time period in order to conserve energy and which disconnect cycle can be interrupted and reset for another predetermined time cycle by an acoustically activated abort means. There exists, therefore, a need for an automatic control apparatus which can accomplish the latter purpose and the instant invention fullfills this need.